Best HP game so far! EA gives players total control!
I always enjoyed HP3 because of the difficulty of the tasks and how the game let you explore. Well, in Order of the Phoenix, EA gives you total control over what you do and when you do it. You can pick a mission, or just wonder around doing small challenges to collect discovery points, which is a great way to just check out the scenry. The detail is amazing and since EA did face scans of the actors, who also lent their voices, you really feel as if you're in a Harry Potter movie. Spell casting is fun, but sometimes it's too hard to remember all the stick moves to cast every spell. With that in mind, if you go to the Pause menu, theres a spell list that refreshes your memory for you. I think it's a little confusing sometimes, though, because some of the stick movements for two different spells are the same, it just depends whether you're casting charms, or dueling, but it's fun all the same.
The footprint option via the Maurader's Map is nice, though there are times, when you're on the stairs, or the screen is showing a long distance shot, that the footprints are a little hard to see. If you stop, they'll reappear a few seconds later. If you're running, they're very easy to see. The portraits are cool, though some of them give you riddles, or little missions you have to perform in order to get their password, and with the accents, I sometimes have a hard time hearing their instructions, but there's a lot of ways to get help from either the portrait, or Ron and Hermione, so you don't stay stuck for long.
All and all, I love this game! The detail and graphics are out of this world, it's like being on the movie set. I apprecaite that EA design the game to really let you wander around and enjoy it. If you're a hard core Harry Potter fan, whether you play a lot of video games, or not, you're going to LOVE this game!